ARTH 102 Iconography Assignment, Fall 2021
Read this entire document carefully before you begin. See the completed samples that I have included under the Iconography Assignment Module in Blackboard.
There will be grade penalties for failing to follow instructions on theme, type of image, etc. so read the following instructions carefully and consult with me if you have any questions.
Assignment Goals
Ø To expand your visual vocabulary of mythological images
Ø To apply concepts from the course to a work of art not covered in lectures
Ø To practice visual comparison of images for specific details
Ø To perform small-scale, focused research on a work of art
Theme:
Select Labors of Herakles (Roman, Hercules)
The Labors of Herakles were a common subject in ancient art, and their popularity continued in Post Classical periods. Some, like the Labor of the Nemean Lion or the Lernean Hydra, were very frequent subjects for painters, sculptors and other artists from antiquity through the Renaissance and up to Contemporary art.
For this assignment, you will need to choose one from the following Labors:
The Cerynean Hind
The Erymanthian Boar
The Cretan Bull
The Mares of Diomedes
The Belt (Girdle) of Hippolyta
The Cattle of Geryon
Please note carefully: if you select any other Labor (e.g. the Stymphalian Birds Labor), it will
not satisfy the theme of the assignment. This will result in the grading penalties described
below.
For the mythological basis of the assignment begin by reading the material on these labors in your MLS textbook (11th
edition: 558-564; 10th
edition: 566-572). If you are not already familiar with Herakles, you should also read pages 117-134 in the Carpenter textbook (note: these are pages, not caption numbers in this case); page 118 is especially helpful in discussing the iconography of Herakles.
After you have read this section, select one Labor from the list above.
You will then need to find two images that depict that specific Labor (see below on images).
Once you have chosen a Labor, you will want more detail on that part of the story than MLS provides. There are a variety of sources and even translations of primary texts online describing the Labors of Herakles; feel free to consult one or more of them. If you use one of these sources, however, be sure to list it in your bibliography (see Bibliography below).
Instructions:
The first step is to find two images, a main image and a comparison image.
Use an online search engine to find images of your chosen Labor that fulfill the following criteria.
Bing.com
Images is probably the easiest search engine for images to use since it allows you to enlarge an image and then save it to your computer. I have included detailed instructions at the end of this document for a Bing image search if you are unfamiliar with the process. Even if you have done it before, I suggest you read the instructions to make certain that you are providing the best resolution of image for the assignment rather than a thumbnail.
Your
main image
should fit all of the following criteria and you should be able to find all the required information. Your main image:
a) must be post-classical (so, 1400 CE-present/Renaissance to Modern) work: it can be a painting, sculpture, mosaic or other medium.
b) cannot be an image that we have previously discussed in class or one that is in your MLS textbook. It cannot be a work of art that we discussed in class prior to the due date of the assignment. If it is in your textbook or has been previously discussed, you will receive ‘0’ credit for the assignment.
c) must be high enough resolution to show details and large enough for all elements to be visible. Do not use the ‘thumbnail’ image that comes up initial on a search, or even the second larger image. Follow to the image source and use the best/clearest resolutions possible.
d) should have enough going on to fulfill the criteria listed below.
e) have available documentation of what museum, collection or art gallery physically houses the work, as well as the artist of the piece and its date of production. You can only cite an artist’s website if it is a contemporary piece of art that is not housed in a collection. Be aware that there are several “National Galleries of Art” and specify which one you are using if appropriate.
The second image that you are finding will be the
comparison image. This image can be a work of art from any time period (ancient to modern) that shows the same event/Labor from the story. It is not enough that the comparison image is also generally from
The Labors of Herakles; it must illustrate the same Labor as your main image—although it can be a different narrative time. Put simply, you cannot compare apples and oranges. If you have a scene of character X doing action Y, your comparison image should show the same character and a moment around the same action. For the comparison, the image may be one that is found in one of your textbooks or one that you find on your own.
Download the images that meet these requirements to your computer or drag them directly into the Iconography Assignment PowerPoint template (see below).
Read the full set of instructions for Stage 1 and the Final Stage so that you understand the direction the project is going in. You should also look at the Samples that I have provided.
Stage 1: Due October 22nd
by 6:00 pm EST
Under the Iconography Assignments Module on Blackboard, there is an “Iconography Assignment Stage 1 Template” PowerPoint. Download that file to your computer.
Add the primary image that you intend to analyze (the one that fulfills the requirements described on page 1 of the assignment) and the Comparison image where instructed.
Fill out the basic information requested on the slides.
Upload to the submission portal in the Iconography Assignment Module. This will count up to 2% of the total 17% of the assignment and can help to prevent the loss of more points on the final stage of the assignment.
Grading for Stage 1: 2% (satisfies all requirements and submission is complete), 1% (is incomplete or does not satisfy some requirement), 0% (not submitted by the stated deadline). Late submissions will be reviewed and feedback provided, but they will count at most .5% on your grade if everything is correct.
Final Stage: Due by Thursday November 11th
6:00 pm EST
If you submit the Stage 1 portion of the assignment, I suggest that you wait until you get feedback before continuing to the final stage, just in case there is a problem with the image you have chosen.
Once your image is confirmed, under the Iconography Assignments Module on Blackboard, there is an “Iconography Assignment Final Template” PowerPoint. Download that file to your computer.
Insert the primary image that you have downloaded into the second slide where you see the icon. You can delete the icon if your image does not cover it.
Then, you will need to complete five tags on this primary image. These tags should help the viewer understand the iconography, action, symbolism and specific details of the myth.
You should use your textbooks as sources of information on the myth. You must also find
two other
sources
to provide information for your tags. These sources may be scholarly books/articles, web-based resources, or artist & museum websites. The weblink to the image does not count as a source. You will have to provide any sources that you consulted in a brief bibliography on the first slide of the template. If you use online resources, use your best judgment to determine if they are reliable. Failure to include research source material may result in plagiarism issues. The format of the bibliography is up to you, simply be consistent.
The Five Tags must cover the following information:
Ø
Narrative time: identify the Narrative Time and explain why you believe that is the correct interpretation. Be clear in your explanation. Simply supplying the time without a clear explanation will cost you points.
Ø
Explanation: describe what is going on in your specific image (the narrative action), who the main characters shown are, and any other pieces of information necessary to understand the narrative of your particular image. Be precise and specific. This is not an explanation of the entire myth—just what is captured in your image.
Ø
Iconography and/or composition:
you must explain the iconography, do not simply list the object/action/attribute. You will need to provide two Iconography tags in most cases: each should explain a separate aspect of how we recognize the scene from the visual cues, attributes or symbols included by the artist. Be careful here since simply saying “this is the iconography of x” is not sufficient; you need to describe what the iconography is and demonstrate that it is apparent in the work of art. Use the tag icon for your first iconography tag; use the tag icon for your second iconography tag.
Composition Option:
if you would like to discuss the overall composition of the scene (e.g. I did in the lecture video for Apollo’s Birth, C 102), you can substitute a Composition tag for the second Iconography tag. Should you choose to do this, be sure that you have something substantive to say about how the arrangement of figures adds to the narrative or conveys some symbolic message. Simply describing the composition is not sufficient for full points. Use the second Iconography tag (above) to indicate Composition option.
Ø
Comparative image:
This is where your second image comes in. Insert it into the third slide of the Final Iconography Template. It can be an ancient or post classical image that is of the same subject. It may be an image that is found in one of your textbooks or not. Fill in the information requested in the textboxes on slide 3 (title and artist; for ancient works of art these may or may not be available). For the comparison, explain clearly a substantive point of difference between your image and the comparison image, e.g. Narrative Time, change in Iconography, etc. You should also explain why this difference is significant; in other words, how does it change our interpretation of the event shown in some way.
The text of each tag should begin with the topic of that tag; so, “Iconography:” “Narrative Time:” etc. Tags should consist of a sentence or two with proper grammatical forms, punctuation and capitalization. The text boxes will expand as you type. If you need to adjust their positions, you can do so. See sample in the Iconography Assignment Module (note: the sample has a different theme from the assignment here. Your image should follow the theme listed at the start of this assignment).
Note: use your own words and phrasing in the tags. Cutting and pasting or copying text directly from another source without proper citation is plagiarism. On this assignment, plagiarism will result in no points for the tag, at a minimum; in extreme cases of repeated plagiarism, you will receive a ‘0’ for this final stage of the project. The ‘Safe Assign’ Protocol on Blackboard, which assesses submissions for plagiarism violations, will be turned on for this assignment.
The iconography tags listed above (and ) are already on the PowerPoint template. Drag them to the spots on your image that you want to draw attention to. Be exact when you place your icons as this can affect the clarity of your work. Avoid placing icons where they will cover important iconography: use them to draw attention but not obscure. If your tags disappear behind your image, click on Arrange in the Toolbar and use the Reorder Objects to send the main image into the background. If you have trouble with this see
https://support.office.com/en-gb/article/reorder-overlapping-objects-67f8ea00-2c32-43c1-a893-221429900fdb
Important:
Save the completed PowerPoint file with the title “[your last name] ARTH 102”. Upload that file into the Iconography Assignment Module on our Blackboard page. Only then have you submitted the project. Also keep a copy of the file for yourself in case you need to reference it later in the semester. The Assignment system is set to allow for three attempts, so if you need to make a correction after upload but prior to the due date, you will have multiple opportunities to make adjustments.
Grading
The Final Stage counts as 15% of your final course grade, divided in the following way:
5% for the information provided on the first slide of the Template
10% for your five tags (2% each—note that this equals 2 points each on your FINAL AVERAGE for the class, so give these some thought)
Proofread your submission before uploading it to Blackboard.
The submission portal will be set for 3 attempts, so if you discover an error before the due date, you can upload up to two corrected versions. I will grade the last one uploaded.
Late Penalties: Submissions after the deadline will only be accepted for five days after the due date. A late penalty of 2% (out of the 15%) will be deducted for each day, so that one day late the maximum value of the assignment is 13%, two days late 11% etc.
Final submissions on an incorrect theme will automatically be docked 10% of the 15%.
Due Date: by Thursday November 11th
by 6:00 pm EST
Upload through the submission portal in the Iconography Assignment Module on Blackboard.
You can submit your project before the deadline; waiting until the last minute and having a technical issue will not be an excuse for late work.
The time stamp from Blackboard will determine whether the assignment has made the deadline.
Using Bing.com to search for images:
When you go to Bing.com, you will see a list of search types along the top of the homepage: Images, Videos, Shopping…. Click on “Images.”
Type your search terms into the search field, e.g. the main character name and action or other words/phrases that would produce the desire results.
This should generate a page of options in the form of square/rectangular thumbnails. You may want to refine the search by using some of the often-helpful tabs at the top of this page. In any case, do not simply select the first image thumbnail that you see just because it is convenient. Look through these thumbnails for an image that seems interesting and has enough going on to allow you to effectively complete the assignment. Not all images are the same, so selecting the right image can make the assignment much easier for you—or unnecessarily difficult if it is an image that lacks the required elements.
Once you have an image that looks promising, click on it. This will bring up a larger image, but it is still a thumbnail. Do not use this image in the PowerPoint.
Click on this larger thumbnail; this will bring you to the version of the image with the best resolution, which is what you want. This image can then by dragged into the PowerPoint directly or you can usually save the image to your computer by right-clicking your mouse/trackpad—although this may vary according to the type of computer or operating system that you use.
Use this approach for both your main and comparison images so that you end up with the best possible images (that is, clearest and easiest to read) for the assignment.
I recommend that you review several options for both images until you find one that will satisfy the terms of the assignment most effectively.